For about the past year or so, we've occasionally noticed a small puddle of water on the floor of the unfinished side of our basement near where the pipes exit the basement walls and enter the septic system. The water doesn't smell of sewage.

There are two pipes that enter the wall at this location. One is the main pipe that everything seems to feed into to go to the septic system. The other pipe is open on top, about 20 inches tall. It has an "elbow" at the bottom where it enters the wall. The tube from the furnace condensate pump empties into this pipe. (What is this pipe called? Is it a standpipe?)

We think the water is coming from this opening, as there doesn't seem to be a leak in any of the other pipes. Occasionally when the washer drains, we will hear gurgling coming from this pipe, especially if I've done a lot of loads in a row. We do have a large capacity washer.

Yesterday I did about six loads of laundry. I heard a lot of gurgling, but the floor stayed dry. However, last night when I emptied the jacuzzi tub and flushed the toilet at the same time (it's possible the dishwasher was draining then, too) a large amount of water ended up on the floor.

A few pertinent facts: House is 13 years old. We're the only owners. Three people in our family. Septic was pumped 2 years ago. Only other plumbing thing I've noticed is that the other tub (not jacuzzi) seems to drain slowly. I noticed this when I used the shower in this tub. Water was up around my ankles. No backups of the toilet or sinks. Freestanding shower drains fine.

My question is this: Does it sound like a septic problem (overloading the drain field with water) or a plumbing problem (possible clog somewhere?)

Thanks for your input.

Hi Barb,
"My question is this: Does it sound like a septic problem (overloading the drain field with water) or a plumbing problem (possible clog somewhere?)"

Both of the above. First the overload. Simply put, too much drainage at the same time and not enough time in between to allow the system to do its job.
It sounds like your drain field is over worked. You put too much volume down into the septic system and it couldn't handle the overload. From what you say you are over taxing the septic system and have been for some time. If your running the laundry and the kitchen sink direct into the septic tank without first going through a grease trap, (especially if you have a garbage disposal) I would have both the septic tank checked to see if it needs to be pumped and the drainfield checked to see if the soil is so saturated that the liquid won't percolate back into the ground.
So much for the overload situation. I'll give you some septic tank tips later.
Your tub has a partial blockage consisting of hair and grease. You may be able to plunge this out, ( Don't forget to block off the tub overflow under the trip lever or it won't work) but if that don't work you will have to snake out the drain line. If you need instructions on how to do this click on back.

Here are the septic tank tips I promised. Since the septic tank is such an essential part of a sewage system, here are some points to remember about the "care and feeding" of that part of the onsite sewage treatment system.
A "starter" is not needed for bacterial action to begin in a septic tank. Many bacteria are present in the materials deposited into the tank and will thrive under the growth conditions present.
If you feel that an additive is needed, be aware that some may do great harm. Additives that advertise to "eliminate" tank cleaning may cause the sludge layer to fluff up and be washed out into the drainfield, plugging soil pores. Some additives, particularly degreasers, may contain carcinogens (cancer-causing) or suspected carcinogens that will flow into the ground water along with the water from the soil treatment unit.
Send all sewage into the septic tank. Don't run laundry wastes directly into the drainfield, since soap or detergent scum will plug the soil pores, causing failure.
Normal amounts of household detergents, bleaches, drain cleaners, and other household chemicals can be used and won't stop the bacterial action in the septic tank. But don't use excessive amounts of any household chemicals. Do not dump cleaning water for latex paint brushes and cans into the house sewer.
Don't deposit coffee grounds, cooking fats, wet-strength towels, disposable diapers, facial tissues, cigarette butts, and other non-decomposable materials into the house sewer. These materials won't decompose and will fill the septic tank and plug the system. To use a 5-gallon toilet flush to get rid of a cigarette butt is also very wasteful of water. Keep an ash tray in the bathroom, if necessary.
Avoid dumping grease down the drain. It may plug sewer pipes or build up in the septic tank and plug the inlet. Keep a separate container for waste grease and throw it out with the garbage.
If you must use a garbage disposal, you will likely need to remove septic tank solids every year or more often. Ground garbage will likely find its way out of the septic tank and plug up the drainfield. It is better to compost, incinerate, or deposit the materials in the garbage that will be hauled away. As one ad says, "You can pay me now, or pay me later."
Clean your septic tank every 1 to 3 years. How often depends on the size of the tank and how many solids go into it. A rule of thumb is once every 3 years for a 1,000 gallon tank serving a 3-bedroom home with 4 occupants (and with no garbage disposal).
Using too much soap or detergent can cause problems with the septic system. It is difficult to estimate how dirty a load of laundry is, and most people use far more cleaning power than is needed. If there are lots of suds in your laundry tub when the washer discharges, cut back on the amount of detergent for the next similar load. It's generally best not to use inexpensive detergents which may contain excessive amounts of filler or carrier. Some of these fillers are montmorillonite clay, which- is used to seal soils! The best solution may be to use a liquid laundry detergent, since they are less likely to have carriers or fillers that may harm the septic system.
Each septic system has a certain capacity. When this capacity is reached or exceeded, there will likely be problems because the system won't take as much sewage as you want to discharge into it. When the onsite sewage treatment system reaches its daily capacity, be conservative with your use of water. Each gallon of water that flows into the drain must go through the septic tank and into the soil absorption unit. Following are some ways to conserve water that should cause little hardship in anyone's standard of living:
Be sure that there are no leaking faucets or other plumbing fixtures. Routinely check the float valve on all toilets to be sure it isn't sticking and the water isn't running continuously. It doesn't take long for the water from a leaking toilet or a faucet to add up. A cup of water leaking out of a toilet every minute doesn't seem like much but that's 90 gallons a day! So be sure that there is no water flowing into the sewer when all water-using appliances are supposed to be off.
The most effective way to reduce the sewage flow from a house is to reduce the toilet wastes, which usually account for about 40 percent of the sewage flow. Many toilets use 5 to 6 gallons per flush. Some of the so-called low water use toilets are advertised to use only 3.5 gallons per flush. Usually the design of the bowl hasn't been changed, however, and often two flushes are needed to remove all solids. That's 7 gallons! Toilets are available which have been redesigned and will do a good job with one gallon or less per flush. Using a 1-gallon toilet rather than a 5 gallon toilet will reduce sewage flows from a home by about a third. This reduction may be more than enough to make the sewage system function again. While prices may vary, 1.6 gallon toilets can usually be purchased in the $200 range, far less than the cost of a new sewer system. Baths and showers can use lots of water. "Setting up camp" in the shower with a shower head flow of 5 gallons per minute will require 100 gallons in 20 minutes. Shower heads that limit the flow to 1.5 or 2 gallons per minute are available and should be used. Filling the tub not quite so full and limiting the length of showers will result in appreciable water savings.
Is the water from the faucet cold enough to drink? How long do you let it run to cool down? Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator. Then it won't be necessary to run water from your faucets in order to get a cool drink.
There may be other ways to conserve water that you can think of in your home. The main idea is to consider water as a valuable resource and not to waste it.
Following a few simple rules like not using too much water and not depositing materials in the septic tank that bacteria can't decompose should help to make a septic system trouble-free for m, too! Any years. But don't forget the septic tank does need to be cleaned out when too many solids builtreatment system.
. Many washers now have settings to reduce the amount of water used for small loads. Front loading washers and suds savers use less water than top loading machines. If your sewage treatment system is reaching its maximum capacity, try to spread the washing out during the week to avoid overloading the sewage system on a single day. Septic tanks need tender, loving care too. Good luck, Tom

Thank you for your reply.

The septic guy is coming tomorrow to check our septic tank and empty it if needed. It will be hard to check the drainfield, as there is a foot of snow on top of it.

Thank you for all of the good tips on water conservation and septic tank maintenance. Those of us living in homes with septic systems should really be given a course in Septic Tank 101 before we have problems!

We do not have a garbage disposal and try to be careful about letting anything go down the kitchen drain as far as food or grease. I didn't know that washing brushes with latex paint on them was bad for the septic system, though.

What about lint from the washer? I read something about lint possibly causing clogs. Should we install some kind of filter?

Just out of curiosity, the pipe I mentioned in my first post, the one that is open on the top, what is that called?

Thanks.

Hey Barb,

Yes lint from the washer will accumulate on the tank floor and sometimes clog up a drainfeild if it gets out in the systen. Ask the septic tank people if they recommend installing a grease trap. As for that open pipe. You named it when you called it a "stand pipe" It's like the pipe the wash machine machine
Hose hooks over. Let me know what the septic tank guys run into and on your part you can spread out the drainage discharge. Try not to dump all at one time. Regards, Tom

Well, we found out what the problem is. When the lid to the septic tank was removed, you could easily see it was full, which is bad. There should be about two feet of air space and ours had zero. It appears our drainfield has failed and we need to replace it. He said we did save ourselves a boatload of trouble by catching it early on.

He recommended using a lint trap on the washer hose, and flushing a pound of brewers yeast every six months will help the system. Spreading out our use will help, too. The county will decide what is required, but they may recommend installing another tank in addition to the one we already have.

What is a grease trap? I didn't read your message until after they had come and gone, so I didn't ask him about that.

Well, on to the expensive job of having our lawn and underground sprinkling torn up and a new drainfield installed. I didn't think they could do this stuff in the winter, but apparently they can.

A grease trap is what we install to catck the lint from the washer and the grease fromm the kitchen. A lint filter will do just fine. Good luck, Tpm